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Refocus Church

Series 3

17. I am a Magnifier of His Name
   

Underlying Theme:    How specific things help me be fulfilled as a part of the Church

   

Focal Idea No.5:   I have the privilege of revealing God's wonder

  

1. Recap

 

In the past four weeks we have seen ourselves being:

    

•  members of God's family

•  examples who reveal the Lord's character 

•  bringers of God's grace and goodness

•  those who is able to bring God's love

    

Here we look at how we reveal the Lord's wonder

 

B. Awareness First!

 

•  Last week we noted that we had to be recipients of God's love before we could pass it on
•  Now we are considering that we need to be aware of the Lord's wonder before we can express it in worship – for it is in worship that we can express this wonder best.
•  Previously we used a story from Wind in the Willows to convey this ‘otherness' of God.
•  How do we become aware of this ‘otherness'? In and through His word.
•  Without this awareness, worship becomes just a weekly routine.

 

Jn 4:23   Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks .”

•  the Message version puts it: “Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration ”

•  in other words God wants worship that naturally flows out of inner understanding – the realization of how wonderful God is.

Psa 34:3  O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.

•   What does magnifying the Lord mean?
•   To Honour Him, tell of His greatness, glorify, praise, exalt, lift up.

    

It is an important aspect of our role as Christians, because:-

 

•   To Honour or exalt etc is not part of our post-modern world.
•   Its about the supernatural aspects of God.
•   What Christians value most highly about God, the rest of world has not a clue.

For the Effect of awareness to God on people in scripture see,

          e.g. Genesis 28 (Jacob) Isaiah 6, Luke 5:8 ff (Peter), Acts 9 (Paul)

 

Effect on us

•   Maybe not as amazing experience as these, but true Christians know and experience something of same wonder of God.

       

 

C. The Wonder of God 

•  There are various ways we can consider God's wonder

•  By His size – He is everywhere in the known universes

•  By His ability – He knows absolutely everything (e.g. Psa 139) 

•  By his love and grace – seen in recent messages

•  By the things God does

•  By His ‘otherness' - what we focus on here.  

 

•  When we try to describe this ‘otherness' words fail us
•  It is a ‘presence' that is overwhelming, unlike anything else we know.   
•  In the revelation of God in the O.T. it came as a bright light, a bright cloud which brought everything to a halt.

   

Job 42:3 “ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” 

     

•  Job caught a glimmer of God and felt an idiot!

•  When Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord he fell face down (Ezek 1:28)

•  John felt similarly when he saw the ascended Jesus ( Rev 1:17 ) – all life went from him 

•  When Isaiah saw it he felt unclean (Isa 6:5) 

•  Peter felt similarly when he sensed it in Jesus (Lk 5:8)   

     

Each of them caught something of the awareness that God the Father and Jesus the Son are ‘utterly different' (the real meaning of the word ‘holy')

 

D. Being a Magnifier of His Name

     

Magnification a lesson from physics!

•   Magnifying glasses make things look bigger, clearer, bring them closer, allow us to see more detail, or see things invisible to the naked eye.
•   Wildlife programmes – magnified images give us a sense of wonder because of close-ups.
•   All these apply to magnifying God!
•   Take time to meditate on this.

 

In meditation - not emptying your mind!

•   Rushed quiet times are poor quiet times. Dwell on what you've read.
•   Ask God to bring back these thoughts during day
•   Brother Lawrence – practice the presence of God.

How can I be this? 

  

•  By worshipping Him

 

Psa 34:3   Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. 

•  that is what we do when we worship – glorify and exalt Him

•  By being an expression of His love and grace

     

Matt 5:16 “ let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven ”

•  Moses' veil see Exodus 34
•  Draw near to God, walk by spirit, and others will see something of God in you.
•  Jesus was in right place to demonstrate the Father's love.

 

Summary-Conclusions

•  Being a magnifier of His name involves

•  becoming aware of His ‘otherness'

•  purposing to express your love and adoration in worship

•  purposing to express His wonder through you own life